A Very Happy Birthday

Thanks so much for the birthday cards (I know a few of you read this blog - my only readers as a matter of fact... ha!). You made my day very special. Not that birthdays have been a very big deal for me (at least since I turned 21, I guess), but it still is nice to be remembered. I can't believe I am actually 34 years old - I honestly don't feel any different than I did fifteen or so years ago, back when I thought that thirty-four was SO OLD. And it sure helps when I'm told that I don't look that old either (OK, so the people that tell me that are most often my elderly patients, but I love to hear it anyway).

The biggest surprise in the mail today was one from two special little girls, a card handmade out of my discarded scrapbook supplies that I had left at Ian's for the kids to make art projects with. I've included a picture here of the cover. They made this for me and I just love it! Thanks to that special person who most likely helped them come up with this idea, you know who you are (wink, wink)...

As for my birthday itself, Cory took me to lunch at Paradise Bakery at Clay Terrace, then I did a little shopping. We also took an evening bike ride which was really nice. And, of course, I got a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a sweet card. Happy Day!

A Day at the Brickyard

For the eighth year in a row, Cory and I bought tickets to the Brickyard 400. Our journey to the Speedway is as much about a day together as it is about watching the race, which was a good thing this year because the race itself was nothing short of a fiasco. Because of tire issues, the race was riddled with mandatory cautions and there was very little action on the track. No matter, we enjoyed our time together, just the two of us.

We arose early, eager to get to Speedway without battling traffic and to settle into our "camping" spot in the courtyard of the elementary school just across 30th St (our best-kept secret). We brought along our traditional pre-race menu of hot dogs, fruit, and snacks to enjoy. On our way in, we caught a whiff of the bacon and eggs cooking on the campfires of some of the other race-goers, and we made a mental note to try breakfast fare next year...

After lunch and a long trek to the track itself, we settled into our seats on the third turn. Our view was fantastic, it never ceases to amaze me how truly massive that place is. It was hot (as usual), and incredibly, for the eighth year in a row, rain never threatened. We did discover, however, that we were covered with the fine black dust of tires that were invisibly shredding on the track. Better than being covered with raindrops, I guess, but scary to think that we were breathing that stuff...

At the end of the day, we headed back to our car, tired but anticipating our delicious post-race menu of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Although the race itself was disappointing, we didn't really mind because as usual, we had a great day.